2018 Platinum Pass

I’ve been wanting to go to Carowinds for quite a while now. Hopefully next season. How is King’s Dominion?

Kings Dominion is really good. Very shaded park, good rides, Grizzly is a surprise, and it’s just a good time.

Kings Dominion was AWESOME. Beautiful park. Rides for everyone. I-305 just might be my #2 coaster behind Millennium Force. Can’t wait to go back in the spring. Oh and I think they are opening a new coaster this year that’s supposed to be pretty good... Twisted Timbers, maybe? 😜

The Platinum pass is great. With parking being included, I find myself going to CP and CPS quite often on Sundays, by myself. Even if only for 5 or 6 hours. I also purchased the platinum food and drink passes, so, I can hit every park in the chain and only pay for gas and possible lodging.

While the 6 Flags Gold pass is a far better value at $175 which includes parking, admission, 2 meals, 1 snack and drinks at all 6 Flags park, the Platinum pass for Cedar Fair is still a value at close to $400 (snacks not included) since Cedar Point is less than 2 hours away and I go at least twice per month and hit Kings Island at least once. Winterfest was included and was really awesome. Plus, the hour early admission is the only way I believe I will get to ride Steel Vengeance more than once per visit. Keep in mind that early admission varies between parks. I would think that Cedar Point's is one of the better ones.

As far as Carowinds goes, Fury 325 is fantastic and Intimidator was ok. The coaster that really surprised me there was Afterburn...I had no idea how many times it inverted since a lot of it is hidden. This ride KILLS Raptor. It ranks only slightly behind Banshee for my second favorite invert.

Just go as often as you can. I do advise adding the food and drink passes to it on the payment plans if they will let you...when the parks open, time and gas will be your only limitations on going.

Yes! Finally, Someone else that shares the same thought as me. Afterburn is amazing!!!! It is equal to Raptor if not better. Carowinds is a great park. I enjoyed it. I plan on hitting up Kings Dominion this summer.

^Much better than Raptor...no cobra roll and no midcourse brake...it's fantastic. When I walked up to it, I seriously had no idea what a great ride it was going to be.

^ Same. With the tunnels and landscaping it makes it an awesome invert. Also I thought another thrill was the drop / turn going over a portion of the parking lot then heading back into the trees.

I would choose Carowinds over Canada's Wonderland. Too many people in Toronto made CW crowd size unbearable. Plus CW has some really strange rides that aren't much fun.

Due to the distance, I won't return to Carowinds until they RMC Hurler. Kings Domininion will probably be worth a return visit. I loved I-305 and Dominator. I didn't get to ride Volcano. Anaconda was horrendous. Looking forward to Twisted Timbers. Dorney Park is surprisingly nice. Talon, Hydra and Steel Force are a lot of fun. Kings Island has many great coasters. Michigan Adventure has Shivering Timbers which is one of my top 5 favorite woodies.

Haven't been to any Cedar Fair parks west of Michigan...maybe this year.

Afterburn absolutely blew me away. When I see lists of B&M inverts it's usually in the top 3 and it deserves it. I've been on 8 of them and it is, in my opinion, the most intense overall. It doesn't have the grand layout of Montu, Raptor or Banshee but it is just so much fun. It definitely gives Carowinds an outstanding top 3, although the rest of their lineup is unremarkable.

The Platinum Pass really has been great for us as our home park is Wonderland and we do Kings Island every year as well along with multiple Cedar Point trips. Really enjoyed Carowinds overall, (great waterpark) - and Dorney last year for the first time was really fun. We haven't been to Kings Dominion since 2012 but we are going back this year for Twisted Timbers. When we went in 2010 and 2012, Dominion it was REALLY hot and humid but the park was fun. I like Kings Island better overall but I'm excited to give the park another look this year.

We are also going to be in Minneapolis for a weekend this August so I'm going to go to ValleyFair. Anyone been? I know it looks kind of like Dorney in size and scope, but I'm excited to get to a park I never thought I'd visit.

I plan on going to every CF park and I can't wait for some. Others like VF and Michigan Adventure will be last. They don't see to care about those parks as much.

Kevinj said:
All we need to find is a quiet beach nearby, and we are good to go.

Slow down and explore the little nooks and crannies of Cedar Point you might typically walk by (at a fast pace).

Myrtle Beach isn’t too bad of drive from Carowinds.

Yes, there’s been trips I’ve made to CP with little to no riding. One crowded day at the park I ended up hanging out on the beach. Worked out well since packing the swim trunks and towel for a backup plan! Relaxing in a rocking chair on Thunder Canyon observation deck with a Trail Tavern drink is a favorite of mine too.

That's why I never go on a weekend day. Tues-Thurs only for me!

Agree with the comments in regards to Afterburn. It's definitely my favorite ride at Carowinds not named Fury 325. Another one of my favorite things about Carowinds is Harmony Hall. What I'd give for CP to have a dining venue similar to that. The food options are fantastic, and there's tons of seating.

Kings Dominion is good, but I prefer Kings Island to it. But Knott's is right up there as one of my favorite CF Parks too. I don't think there's any other park in the chain that's as charming as Knott's, and Scary Farm is only out-done by Halloween Horror Nights when it comes to halloween events. I know it's far, but that park is well worth the trip to California, and you can hit... some other places while you're out there. :)

Maverick44 said:
I plan on going to every CF park and I can't wait for some. Others like VF and Michigan Adventure will be last. They don't see to care about those parks as much.

If you’re travel plans are flexible, I’d recommend checking out the smaller parks first. They might seem a little underwhelming after the bigger CF parks. Personally I loved Dorney Park, even though most everyone else seems to poopoo the park. That’s the only “smaller” CF Park I’ve visited.

I really enjoyed Carowinds & Kings Dominion.

Also completely agree about After Burn. The day we went to Carowinds After Burn had no line all morning and the ride ops just let us stay on and keep riding as long as no one was waiting for the seat you were in. If someone was waiting you just moved to a different open seat. We rode 14 straight times in several different parts of the train without ever getting off. It was AMAZING! One of my favorite Amusement Park memories.

Shane Denmark said:

Maverick44 said:
I plan on going to every CF park and I can't wait for some. Others like VF and Michigan Adventure will be last. They don't see to care about those parks as much.

If you’re travel plans are flexible, I’d recommend checking out the smaller parks first. They might seem a little underwhelming after the bigger CF parks. Personally I loved Dorney Park, even though most everyone else seems to poopoo the park. That’s the only “smaller” CF Park I’ve visited.

I plan on going to all of them for sure. I won't hate on them at all. I love all coasters!

Unfortunately, I got a wet first impression of Afterburn. It was raining pretty almost the whole day I was at Carowinds, sometimes pretty steady (they are certainly way more lax about running rides in rain than Cedar Point). But yeah it was at a pretty steady fall when I rode it, it was essentially riding a water ride.

And then I rode Fury 325 in front row....never again in rain. And lastly Nighthawk, in the end area where you wait for the other train to go, I was directly under a pole just constantly leaking drops of water. I still had a lot of fun that day though. And at least I was able to ride some of the rides dry in the final hour when the rain tapered off.

Man that's hard to go on a day it rains the whole time down there!

Dorney was fun for sure. It was nicer than I thought it would be and, in addition to the fun coaster lineup and a few nice flats it's just awesome to have Demon Drop. I miss that ride at CP so much.

I do have to make two complaints though on Dorney. 1 - They don't have wi-fi. That was crazy, I couldn't believe it. 2 - Wasp/Yellow Jacket central. It was insane how many there were, and not just around the refresh stations. I've even seen a lot of comments about it in online reviews of the park. My wife got stung while we were waiting for an ice cream cone. When we went to first aid they were instantly ready for us and the one associate on duty commented that they already had multiple guests come in with it that day, and it happened around 1pm.

Yeah the WiFi issue was kinda a bummer. It’s amazing how much nicer that makes a park. Darien Lake doesn’t have WiFi either, and it’s in the middle of nowhere so there’s no Sprint service either. At least Dorney is right in town so I had service through Sprint.

On a somewhat related note, can’t wait until July 7th when my Sprint contract ends. Verizon, here I come.